Lexigram

"Robot Haikus of Despair and Self Loathing" shows Lexigram — the act previously known as Yerkish — stretching out a bit, with more attention given to space within the song, especially in the middle, where Tim Kaminski's voice spirals off into a tasteful sustain, more operatic than indulgent, before the guitars catch the song in his sudden drop-off. "Flagellation," meanwhile, starts out with a dense sound and then peels off layers until close to the end, when only vocals, textural percussion and impressionistic guitar create a quiet tension. The shifting percussion and pacing of "Zombie Cheer Camp" is reminiscent of the Mars Volta and that band's penchant for playing polyrhythms within a larger rhythmic strategy. The EP ends with a cover of "Welcome to the Machine" that deftly transmutes the synth sweep into a cutting, prog-jazz guitar lead.